does anyone keep cortunix on the ground?

[Stellar]

Coturnix tend to huddle in a group and against a corner...bobwhites the same. Trust me. I lost 40 bobwhites 2 years back due to chicken wire and not smaller wire. Chicken are a bit bigger and do roost, whereas Coturnix do not, little hands will grab them through the corners OR they will stick their heads out and something can grab them that way.

 

[BobwhiteQuailLover]

My Coturnix are on ground.

 

[JHaller]

My neighbor prefers to raise hers on ground because the birds like to dust bathe and eat bugs. There is also less risk to their feet. On wire, mosquitos can bite them on the undersides of their feet and cause infections. The trade-off is that they are more susceptible to pathogens in the soil. But, the cage is movable to clean ground. She also likes to keep hay in the bottom of the cage for the birds to build nests, and "tunnels", and keep themselves entertained while reducing odor.

The bottom line--- which set of problems are you more comfortable handling? We have lots of mosquitos here, lots of heat. The ground also helps the birds stay cool. She prefers to manage pathogens.

When I get my quail, I will start with ground as well.

Judith

 

[aprophet]

I keep mine on wire because of where I live our ground is super wet constantly think of an east coast bayou the ditches come in with the tide we have 2 different kinds of skeeters here and now and them 1 or 2 my quail will get what I think is fowl pox , that and here where I am we have a fair population of preds and it is like a lot of folks say chicken wire is good at keeping chickens in but not much out LOL

 

[Stellar]

I prefer the litter boxes I use, It doesn't smell in the barn and I have hundreds of quail in there (mainly Coturnix and Chinese Blue Breasted). I clean daily. We get mosquitos here in FL, they don't bite the feet, they will bite anywhere, plus if they dust bathe in wire cages, what difference does it make? More safety and more care ( in my case). I have been told my birds are very beautiful, no problems whatsoever, the eggs are clean and the birds are too. I only lost birds to snakes...and other predators...when they were outdoors...so they are in a closed environment with plenty of enrichment.

 

[Wifezilla]

Mine are in a dog kennel lined with hardware cloth and covered with poly panels. 1 open side and open eves for ventilation. Plenty of places to hide. A hutch the girls like to lay eggs in. Plastic plants for "cover". Some wicker baskets filled with straw in case anyone wants to chill out. They have a straw floor...deep litter. They do make tunnels in the straw and dig around on the ground constantly. It keeps them busy and happy. I had started out with quail in a wire cage, but the behavior and calmness level (well, calm for a quail anyway) were amazing once I got them on the ground.

 

[TheRealTimShady]

Quote:
i would think they are fine on the ground, but my main concern would be snakes, i'm sure a snake would love a tasty quail chick

 

[gamebirdboy]

Wire wil not hurt their feet. Their feet are little bones with skin over them... They get used to it and it doesn't hurt them..

 

[rosco]

on four batch of cortunix. considering what's happened, it has not been a bad hatch rate. we were w/o incubator space for two days. oddly, 35 out of 40 have hatched in that batch. they are at day 21. i want to cut it off but one hatched last night and girlfriend wants to continue it???

i've no idea where i can put a breeding pen. the first batch are wk 5 or 6. they're ~5-6oz. the roosters are crowing but i've not seen any eggs. i'll use the old chicken tractor but only the coop part. i'll put 1/2" screen up (i have since seen this screen in practice and it is what i want).

the R.N. pheasants are at day 21 of 25. we stopped rolling them at day 14 but the hatching cortunix probably rolled them some. well, they did. they've been sitting still for several days now and we'll see what happens. not really wanting any, the price was just right.

All, thanks for the help!

 

[shelleyd2008]

Quote:
That sure sounds like something Robo would say. I would like to know why, if wire won't hurt their feet, there have been so many posting having adult coturnix with swollen feet? This is clearly caused from the wire they are on 24/7.

My coturnix are in a raised pen but 2/3's of the floor is solid. Their floor is solid|wire|solid and their waterer is on the wire. About the only time they are on the wire is when they are getting a drink or when they are going from one solid-floored part to another.